This is the second time a character (Flaky) escapes an animal trying to kill them in the ocean (a shark), do not realize that they have hit dry land at first (until Flaky bumps into a tree), and then thinks that they are safe, only to be eaten by an animal shortly afterward. The first time is with Russell in Snow Place to Go.

The Mole pulling down Handy's zipper after hearing his cries of pain marks one of a few times The Mole responds to another person's pain (although he resumes back to work even though Handy screams even more after The Mole tries to help).

Handy is out of character in this scene as well, as he is usually known to never ask someone for help no matter how frustrated he gets, but he goes out of his way to ask The Mole to zip him up.

As The Mole is wearing ear muffs, he does not hear Lumpy's cries of agony when he slices the skin off his back.

Cultural References

The title of this episode is a term used when someone falls off their surfboard when they surf.

It is not named after the game show of the same name, as this episode aired in 2006, whereas the game show aired in 2008.

Flaky's crab-like head in the closing scene is possibly a nod to the film "The Thing".

The scene where Flaky narrowly escapes being devoured by sharks only to be killed by a coconut is possibly a reference to a well-known (but strange) statistic that more people are killed by coconuts each year than sharks.

Fun Fact: The death count by sharks is only 10-15, while death by coconut is 150.

The meaning of the moral, "make waves" means to cause difficulty in a negative way.

According to the storyboards, originally, Toothy was going to be impaled on the buoy rather than Cuddles. This explains why he is seen wearing a surfing bib prior to the competition, yet cannot be seen during the competition. Otherwise, Cuddles would have survived in all three parts of the tenth full TV episode. It is also possible that Toothy might have decided not to go and that he gave Cuddles his surfing bib.